Is aggressiveness a positive quality?

[Daemon99]

Is being aggressive considered a positive quality?

If someone said I was aggressive, should I take it as a compliment? Does the context in which it is said matter?

Can someone please answer my questions?
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Non-native speaker of English
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I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

[Alan]

Hi Daemon,

I think it matters very much in which situation it is used. In certain walks of life say sport or politics, it could be considered an essential attribute but to my mind it's of benefit most to the aggressor rather than the recipient of the aggression. If you were described as aggressive in a social context, then it wouldn't be a compliment to my way of thinking.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Jamie (K)]

I agree that it very much depends on the context.

If someone is an aggressive problem-solver, that's positive.

If someone is an aggressive salesman, that might be good for his employer, but it can be quite bad for his customer.

If a lawyer is aggressive, it's positive as long as he's on your side.

An aggressive prosecutor is good, as long as he is not corrupt and is worried about true justice and not some predetermined outcome.

It's definitely bad to be an aggressive driver or an aggressive dog.